Monroe Wins Shoot-Out at San Fernando

Monroe High overcame 10 San Fernando runs Thursday and a five-run deficit to defeat the Tigers, 14-10, and move into second place alone in the Mid-Valley League.

The Vikings came roaring back in the sixth with six runs all with two out, and they added three for good measure in the seventh.

“I was proud of the way we were able to overcome our early mistakes,” said Coach Bill Hence, whose Monroe team started the day in a three-way tie with San Fernando and Birmingham for second.

Monroe (5-3) scored first when Albert Kolesar doubled in Jeff Lambert in the first inning. But San Fernando countered with four runs in its half of the inning.

The Tigers scored another run off Monroe starter Steve Leiner in the second inning, and Leiner gave way to reliever John Valeri to start the third.

Valeri got the Tigers out in order in the third, but walked the first four batters he faced in the fourth inning. San Fernando (4-4) scored five runs on one hit in the inning.

“I’ve got a couple of saves, so I’ve had my good days,” Valeri said. “I had a problem with my arm and I was just trying to concentrate and throw strikes.”

Valeri had control problems, and gave way to Craig Reed in the fourth. San Fernando starter Junior Gonzalez, meanwhile, was cruising along.

Gonzalez struck out two men to end the fourth and surrendered a lead-off double to Reed in the fifth before getting the next two batters to ground out and strike out.

Then Gonzales got into trouble.

Pinch-hitter Greg Kohn singled in Reed, Greg Zuckerman singled, sending Kohn to third and Lambert was hit by a pitch. Kolesar walked, Scott Stephens and Dwayne Montgomery singled and suddenly, San Fernando trailed, 11-10.

“Junior has to have the good location on his curveball in order to be effective and he didn’t have it today,” said San Fernando Coach Steve Marden. “You can’t throw strictly fastballs in this league and expect to beat the good teams.”

The Vikings, who pounded out 18 hits, got three hits each from Kolesar, Lambert and catcher Robert Morgan. The catcher also belted an inside-the-park home run with a man aboard in the Vikings’ two-run fourth inning.

“The wind was blowing hard and I was trying to overcompensate for it,” Morgan said. “I felt comfortable and I was seeing the ball good.”

Reed picked up his third win against two losses, while Gonzalez’s record dropped to 2-1.

“I was tired but I told coach I was ready to pitch if he needed me,” Reed said. “When the game’s on the line, I want to be the person in there.”

Monroe also got two hits apiece from Reed and Zuckerman and an inside-the-park home run from Scott Floman, while San Fernando was paced by Roy Mijares, who had two hits and three runs batted in.

“It was that old-fashioned, shoot-out kind of game,” Hence said. “I knew we were capable of scoring a lot of runs and our guys got tough with guys on today.”